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On the campus of Calvin University
© 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
While worship is the primary purpose of all churches, worship in the small church is distinctive. Whether a house church, a new church plant, a rural church along a country road, or a city church whose neighborhood demographics have shifted, these small faith communities present unique opportunities and challenges for worship leaders.
Peter Bush and Christine O'Reilly draw on their passion and experience equipping lay people to plan and lead worship to answer the question, what makes for effective worship leadership in family-size congregations, where fewer than 50 people gather Sunday by Sunday to worship? Addressing the needs of small churches in rural, suburban, and urban contexts, the authors discuss the characteristics of family-size congregations, the variety of ways they are organized, the joys and challenges of worship and preaching in small congregations, and best worship practices in small congregations. The challenges of the multi-point or yoked pastoral charge and of congregations without clergy receive special consideration.
Worship, Justice, and Joy: A Liturgical Pilgrimage
By: Neal D. Presa
This book connects the pilgrimage of life and faith to parallel movements of worship as communities gather to hear, read, proclaim, receive, and witness to the word of God.
Sound Theology: A Reader
By: Randall Dean Engle
This book brings to life in English for the first-time primary, curated sources associated with the pipe organ controversy in the Netherlands during the Reformation.
Journey to Jesus
By: Rhoda Grever Schuler , Kent Jorgen Burreson
When many Christian congregations are asking, "How can we draw new members into our midst?" the authors reframe the question: "How can congregations make new disciples and deepen the faith of long-time Christians?"
Worship, Justice, and Joy: A Liturgical Pilgrimage
By: Neal D. Presa
This book connects the pilgrimage of life and faith to parallel movements of worship as communities gather to hear, read, proclaim, receive, and witness to the word of God.
Sound Theology: A Reader
By: Randall Dean Engle
This book brings to life in English for the first-time primary, curated sources associated with the pipe organ controversy in the Netherlands during the Reformation.
Journey to Jesus
By: Rhoda Grever Schuler , Kent Jorgen Burreson
When many Christian congregations are asking, "How can we draw new members into our midst?" the authors reframe the question: "How can congregations make new disciples and deepen the faith of long-time Christians?"
Servanthood of Song: Music, Ministry, and the Church in the United States
By: Stanley R. McDaniel
'Servanthood of Song' is a history of American church music from the colonial era to the present. Its focus is on the institutional and societal pressures that have shaped church song and have led us directly to where we are today.
